


crossroads: blue

by randomfills (spnfanatic)



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, BAMF Castiel (Supernatural), BAMF Dean Winchester, Fantasy, Human Castiel (Supernatural), M/M, Magic, Monsters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Supportive Sam Winchester, Virtual Reality, video games - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25678942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spnfanatic/pseuds/randomfills
Summary: With a dead mom and a dad who has lost himself to grief, Dean’s always strived to be the best older brother to Sam. He’s taken care of the kid since Sammy was just a toddler. He’s juggling a job at the Singer Salvage Yard, worrying over paying rent in their crappy two bedroom apartment and fretting over if Sam’s even getting enough to eat to support his ever growing gigantor body, Dean doesn’t get much time to relax…’til Sam surprises him one day by bringing home the latest, hottest game on the market called ‘Crossroads: Blue’. Dean’s never cared much about video games but even he’s got to admit, this game has piqued his curiosity. It’s about heroes and monsters, swords and magic, a complete submersion into a reality where the supernatural is real and for a just a couple hours, he gets to go on quests to save the princess and kingdom. He doesn’t even think he’d find someone just as like-minded as he, wanting to forget about his own real life problems. destiel, slow-burn
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	crossroads: blue

Dean’s staring at the _thing_ in his brother’s hands with a mix of curiosity and maybe a little trepidation. Sam’s face is earnest as he holds the box up, surely wanting Dean to take it. He does, eyes glancing briefly from Sam’s puppy eyes, which dammit Sammy quit looking so pitiful, and then back to the box in question. “What the hell, Sammy?” he blurts out before he can stop himself. He’s read what it says on the box, _Crossroads: Blue_. He knows it’s a game, a _video game_ , the kind that hooks up to a computer and comes with a headset that has this special visor built into it and a thin pair of bracelets. It’s one of the new virtual reality gadgets, it’s been buzzing on the internet for months now, everyone’s talking about it.

“It’s for you, Dean,” Sam says immediately and Dean’s head shoots back up and he’s looking at his baby brother again, sees the sheepish look on his face before he’s looking down at the floor. “I bought it for you.”

Dean opens his mouth, then closes it. He doesn’t know what to say to that. Instead he looks back down at the box. It’s one of the special bundles, complete with the game code and headset and everything Dean needs to get into the game. He remembers watching a couple of the videos on this shit. Virtual reality is all the rage these days. You ain’t played a video game, a true one, if you haven’t tried VR. But that crap’s expensive. How did Sam even come up with the money?

He doesn’t even realize he said the last part out loud ‘til he hears Sam laugh and he looks up at him and Sam just gives him one of those little smiles that’s genuine and makes his face seem to light up and his hazel eyes stand out even more, and he says somewhat shyly, “I might’ve gotten a job a few months back. I’ve been saving most of my paychecks for this,” and he gestures to the box Dean’s holding in his arms. “For you.”

Dean freezes, locked on the word, job. His fifteen year old brother has a job? And he’s been at it for a _few months_ now? How the hell has Dean never noticed? What kind of older brother is he when he doesn’t even notice Sam’s been sneaking out of the house to go to some secret job instead of focusing on his curriculum. He looks back at his brother whose hair has gotten longer than Dean thinks it should be. He’s getting tall, an inch or two taller than Dean now. He’s filling out everywhere else too, like his shoulders. He’s staring back at Dean, waiting for him to say something and so Dean swallows and says, “Where? Where did you get your job at?”

Sam’s smile is proud as he admits, “The Harvelle Roadhouse.”

Dean’s surprised. He’s been there a couple times a week. He’s familiar with all the staff there like Ellen Harvelle who’s the owner, and her daughter, Jo, and the weird guy who seems to get drunk and slack off but is still a decent guy as well, Ash. And none of them ever mentioned Sammy. His initial response is to be hurt and betrayed; they would keep this a secret from him. Of all people, he considered the Harvelles as friends, as family. Hell, Ellen is like a surrogate mom. She was there when Dean had been hurt and upset and needed some advice, or really someone to smack him upside the head and tell him to get it together. She’s seen both of the Winchester boys at their worst and stuck with them anyways.

There must’ve been something on his face that showed what he was thinking because immediately, Sam was saying, “Don’t be mad at them, Dean. Ellen didn’t initially want to give me a job because I’m supposed to be studying and just focusing on school. She knows how much academics mean to me, to us. I had to plead with her for almost a month before she finally gave in. And she was only going to give me the job if she was able to tell you, but I know you, Dean. You’d ask me why I’m bothering with a job since you already got our living expenses covered and everything and if you knew that I’d only took it to save the money to buy you this, you’d make me quit. Like, in a heartbeat.” Dean snorts. Yeah, Sam’s got him there. Because this, the box in his hands, while it seems cool and he’s curious, it ain’t worth jeopardizing Sam’s education. Sam means more than Dean’s passing, little curiosity. Because that’s all it is.

“You got that right,” Dean hears himself murmur. Somehow during the conversation, they ended up sitting on the couch. Dean sets the box down on the floor. He can still see the top which has a picture of a large, medieval castle. Now that he has it in front of him, he can’t stop looking at it, wondering more and more what the game’s all about, what’s got the internet so hyped up? What made this game so much more special than the rest?

“So, uh, yeah. Ellen was going to tell you and I panicked and somehow convinced Jo to tell her mom not to tell you. Same with Ash,” Sam continues, oblivious to Dean’s inner thoughts. “I’ve been bussing the tables a couple hours on random nights I’ve been telling you I’m at the library.”

“You’re kidding,” Dean says, a little dumbfounded on how easy Sam’s been able to manipulate him. He’s trusted Sam so much that he never bothered to check to see if Sam was where he said he’d be. Had he just driven to the library one of those evenings, he could’ve seen through his little brother’s lies. “I trusted you, Sam.”

Sam, at least, has the decency to hang his head and look ashamed. “I know, Dean,” he says in that small voice he used when he knew he’d been caught doing something awful. “And I’m sorry. I’ve wanted to come clean for a while now. You have no idea how much the guilt’s been eating at me these past few months.”

Dean’s been feeling a little guilty for making Sam feel the way he has, but Sam’s been _lying_ to him, for _months_ , and for what? A video game? Hurt and just a little betrayed, Dean shoots back, “So why didn’t you just come clean then? Doesn’t your education matter to you, Sam?” Dean has worked his ass off for Sam to get a chance at graduating high school with good grades, something he’s never been able to do. Sam’s got the brains. He’s got a future. And he _wants_ to go to college. He wants to be a lawyer and marry a girl and start a family and adopt a dog. He wants _all_ of that and Dean wants his brother to have all of that but he can’t if he’s taking up a job, it’s going to eat into his studying time and sooner or later, whether he loves Ellen or not, she’s gonna start demanding him to put in more hours at the roadhouse and that means he’ll have less hours studying and then soon enough, he’s gonna fall into the same trap Dean did and-

“Of course education is important to me, Dean,” Sam’s voice, sharp and loud, cuts right through Dean’s thoughts. “But you’re important to me too.” Sam’s looking up at him, his eyes wide and bright and innocent and Dean can’t get his mouth to work properly so he stays silent and waits for Sam to continue and he does. “I know it isn’t much, but you’ve been eyeing that game since it came out-” _It’s just a couple Youtube videos, Sammy, you know I’m not like that, I don’t play video games-_ “-and I know you don’t have much to just, you know, loosen up and relax and no, Dean, alcohol doesn’t count. Besides, you’re not even legal drinking age.”

Dean can’t help but roll his eyes at that last part. “Dad’s never minded too much about me snagging a beer or two.” As soon as the words leave his lips, Dean instantly regrets it. The words are sour and the meaning behind it is still a fresh wound and something the brothers had come to a silent agreement not to talk about, even as a joke. “Sorry,” he says at the look Sam shoots him. “Went too far. I won’t talk about dad anymore, promise.”

Sam nods, though reluctantly. Then he sighs and rubs the side of his face tiredly. “Dean, look, I’m sorry for not being upfront with you from the start, but I don’t regret my decision. If I had to do it all over again, I would.” He pauses for a moment, then, “I love you, man. You’re my brother. You’ve done so much for me, sacrificed so much. I just...wanted to do something for you for a change. You know? Give back just a little.”

And Dean does know. He gets it. He’s been in Sam’s shoes, still is in Sam’s shoes. Every single fucking day. He looks over at his dopey, younger brother. Damn the kid and his pitiful puppy eyes. “Damn it, Sammy. Come here,” he’s got an arm wrapped around Sam’s neck before either of them realizes he’s moved, and he’s pulling Sam into one of those awkward one armed hugs.

Sam’s stiff at first and he lets the surprise flit over his face before it smooths over into something more akin to anxiety mixed with hope. “You’re not mad at me? Does that mean you’re planning to keep it?” his voice is overly eager, like he’s asking if they’re keeping a stray dog and Dean rolls his eyes.

“I’m still pissed,” he says casually, delights in the way Sam freezes and his eyes are going wide, and he gives into the urge to chuckle and ruffle his brother’s hair after a moment, “but I’m not so pissed that I’m going to make you return the damn game. You worked your ass for this, Sammy. For _me_. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still don’t think I’m worth risking your education over, but...uh, it does mean a lot to me that you’d do that.” He pauses for breath and clears his throat. “So, yeah, thank you.”

Before he can even move, he’s getting more Sammy than he knows what to do with as his brother turns and wraps both arms around him, encasing him in a bear hug. Dean’s breathing a lungful of Sam’s shampoo and sweat and he can’t help but smile. They stay like that for a moment, before Sam finally decides to let go. 

Dean raises an eyebrow. “So chick-flick moment over, Samantha?” he can’t help but tease, and Sam smacks him lightly on the arm but he’s smiling and Dean just laughs. He picks up the box and grabs his pocket knife from the table in front of them. He can’t contain his excitement as he turns back to look at his brother, “Ready to open this thing?”

Sam grins and says, “What are you waiting for? Go for it, dude.”

Dean wastes no time cutting the box open and taking out the headset carefully. It’s smaller than he thought it’d be, and it’s a dark blue which is pretty cool. There’s a dark visor fit into it that looks like they’re meant to go over your eyes and when Dean slowly, carefully puts it on, like holy shit, he’s right. It glides over his face to fit just right over his eyes. It’s like wearing sunglasses. His vision is darkened but he can still see around the room easily, can still see Sam sitting next to him, that wide smile on his face that’s genuine and proud.

He then takes the headset off and sets it on the table in front of them as gently as he can. He goes to grab more items from the box, like the bracelets and a small box that probably holds the actual game code so that he can download the game. He glances down at the bracelets. They’re a match set to the headgear and they’re thin and metal. They clasp easily around his wrists. There’s a long cord that looks like they’re supposed to connect from the headset to his computer.

“Want me to grab your laptop?” Sam asks, and Dean is about to snap out a ‘no’ because he doesn’t want Sam going into his room and he’s got stuff on his laptop he’d rather Sam not see but his brother’s practically bouncing with anticipation and Dean just rolls his eyes and shrugs. Sam takes that as permission granted and he’s up and out of the room before Dean can change his mind.

Sam’s back in just under a minute, Dean’s laptop under one careful arm. He sets it down next to the headset on the table. Dean shakes his head in amusement at Sam’s so obvious enthusiasm as Dean opens the laptop and types in his password. He grabs the code and finds the website to begin the download. The wait doesn’t take long surprisingly. It’s supposed to be this submersive world, pulling you from real life to this complete fantasy life of heroes and monsters and magic so Dean always assumed the download would be long, like half a day’s worth. But it’s done in an hour, maybe less and Dean’s hooking up the headset and activating the bracelets. Sam’s looking through the manual carefully, making sure Dean’s doing everything right. He can’t help but snort at the total look of concentration Sam’s got as he’s sifting through page after page of text. Who fucking reads the manual these days?

“Sam, it’s fine,” Dean says for the second time in less than ten minutes. “I got everything working so chill, okay?”

Sam glances up at him with one of his many bitch faces. The one that says, ‘please, Dean, I’m trying to concentrate here.’

Dean just rolls his eyes and starts to put on the headset because the screen just instructed him to do that. “Wait!” Sam says and Dean pauses, feeling just a little annoyed now. “Are the lights on the bracelets green?”

Dean looks down and yep, they sure are. “Yeah. Is that good?”

Sam nods, biting his lip. “What about the headset?”

Dean glances up at it. “Yep. Am I good to go, Sammy?”

Sam sighs and nods, setting down the manual finally. He smiles, looking equal parts nervous and excited. “Yeah, Dean, I think so. Just remember, when you want to leave the game, it’s a verbal command. You have to say something like, ‘I want to log off.’”

“I want to log off. Got it,” Dean repeats, giving Sam a grin. “Alright then. See you in a bit, Sammy.”

Sam nods. “Have fun, Dean.”

Dean gives him a wink. “Always do.” Then he puts on the headset and the world seems to spin out of control for a moment, before blinking out of existence.

Dean’s never been much of a video game kind of guy. He’s never played on handheld consoles, never seen the point in even buying one when the money could be used for more important things like food and clothes and school supplies and paying rent. He’s played maybe one or two games on his phone but easily got bored of it within a day. Besides, it’s not like Dean has much time to play games these days in between his job and helping Sam with his homework and running errands for his surrogate parents like Bobby Singer and Ellen Harvelle. 

And anyways, Sam’s the nerd who likes to play video games in his spare time, after he’s done with homework and studying and apparently working as a busboy for the Harvelles right under Dean’s nose. 

So really, Dean had no idea what to expect after he downloaded the game and put on the headset. Sure he’s heard all about how VR has taken it to the next level, especially with this new game. Everyone’s been raving about it. It’s everywhere on the internet. No matter what you’re browsing, you can’t not come across at least one article talking about it. So yeah, Dean’s heard of it. Who hasn’t?

 _Latest in VR, Crossroads: Blue is Making History_ , said one headline.

 _The first video game ever to have a full submersion_ , read another.

There were videos upon videos of game-play footage on Youtube about the game. It’d been all pretty interesting but every commentator seemed to say the same thing: “ _It’s not nearly as impressive as when you put on the headset yourself and experience it firsthand_.” And that got Dean just a little curious.

So here he is. Still not quite sure what to expect, standing in a sea of darkness, for just a moment. Then...then he’s falling. And instinctively, he reaches his arms up, trying to grasp something, anything, but of course there’s nothing for him to grab onto, and he’s falling and falling and falling. Until his ass hits something mildly soft and he groans and blinks up into the bright sun shining down on him. The sky’s blue and gorgeous and clear. The smell of roses and wet, dewy grass catches his attention and Dean can hardly believe that he’s no longer in the small two bedroom apartment in front of his laptop with his brother sitting next to him.

He can see birds circling in the sky above him and when he reaches up to touch his face purely out of instinct, he can’t even feel the headset he knows he’s wearing. His wrists are also bare of the blinking bracelets and he takes a careful look around, noting the barn-like building behind him, big and impressive, old and painted a dark red, almost brown. There are a couple trees nearby, tall and imposing, and just beyond it, the grassy field curves into a massive hill. He looks down and sees he’s sitting on a pile of hay. He’s wearing the work boots he normally wears when he goes to Bobby’s. His jeans, comfortable with a couple holes near the knees, and his favorite AD/DC shirt have made it into the game as well.

Without thinking about it, he’s reaching out to touch the hay underneath him. He takes a single straw and twirls it around in his fingers, examining it with wonder. It’s hard and solid and real. He gets off the haystack, stumbling forward and almost loses his balance, but he catches himself before he can tumble headfirst. He’s touching the ground with both hands. It feels just as real as the earth, and when he stands back up, his palms are covered in the dark soil and tiny pebbles and blades of grass and oh god, this all felt so real. He walks over to the building, running a hand slowly over the wood, over the peeling paint. He can’t believe he’s here. That he can touch all of this. See all of this. Feel and taste and smell all of this. He’s about to turn back around, to face the sun again, when he catches sight of something out of the corner of his eyes, something that’s glinting just right in the beam of the sun. He finds himself walking further into the barn and freezes in place when he sees a large, silver sword just lying in the middle of the place. The hilt is majestic, with three little crystals embedded into the metal. They all have different colors: red, green, orange. He’s never seen a sword so close before, just within a couple steps. He swallows, feeling something in his stomach flutter, and before he knows what he’s doing, his feet are moving again.

Then he’s crouching down, staring down at his own reflection in the sword. He’s reaching to grab it because the sword seems to be calling to him to pick it up. As soon as he does, a small current of electricity jolts his body and he nearly drops the sword in surprise. But his fingers don’t let go and he ends up staring down at it instead. For a minute, he’s rooted in place. The sword, lighter than it looks, still grasped tightly in his hands. Then he’s smiling, then he’s laughing, nearly doubling over as he gasps and wheeze, trying to catch his breath. This is real. Everything here is real.

It’s like, it’s like he’s been _teleported_ into another world. Someplace fantastical and far away. Dean can’t help but feel giddy as he grips the sword even tighter. He feels like one of those kids who has just discovered a candy store for the first time. He smirks up at the sun, overwhelmed with excitement and glee, feeling oh so powerful, as he stands in the abandoned barn with this beautiful, majestic sword, the undercurrent of its power humming and coursing through his veins, causing his whole body to vibrate.


End file.
